A fungi to be
A photographic project three years, and an many species of fungi, in the making
Ilove new challenges, and one autumn three years ago I was seeking inspiration for a new project. I’ve always shot toadstools, but I knew my work with them had become stale. A little research on the web showed me that, while there were thousands of great toadstool images, the majority were samey and lacked any creativity. This was the push I needed, and my ideas have ‘mushroomed’ into my book,
The Art of Fungi Photography. One of the driving motivations throughout the project was that all the images had to be of common species, taken close to where I live. Before I turned professional, over 10 years ago, I was an
I wanted to show that new and interesting nature photography can be created locally
environmental science lecturer for 20 years. Since then I have always wanted my photography to make a difference; to show that new and interesting nature photography can be created locally. But how could I create a range of toadstool images that were different?
I started with lighting, exploring how I could introduce mini lights into the cap and body of the mushroom to create a glow from within. Next came bioluminescent paint – the exotic toadstools of Borneo really did glow in Sheffield’s woodlands at night! From here I experimented with fireworks before I discovered a technique that produced moody images of toadstools emanating steam. I named these Spirits of the Mushroom.
As one year progressed into another I experimented with infrared photography (using a converted Canon EOS-1D Mark II N), double exposures, silhouettes, spore prints, splash art and bokeh, before I started a series of images that I termed ‘Environmental Installation Art’.
I self-published the book, which I hope not only shows that nature photography can be created locally, but also explains the techniques I developed. The book is available on my website, www.paulhobson.co.uk.